[NathanMcMahon]

I just got a pretty interesting letter in the mail. I'll post it here and let's discuss:


I used to be a tester a few years ago. This is pretty interesting. Thoughts?

[The M.O.B]

You were a tester there?, then give us your thoughts. :p

Was it bad? did they ever not pay you for some hours?

[Hilbert]

What's to discuss? If it is true, the deserve to be sued and win.

[JWong]

Heck, I don't even know these laws.

I'm probably being taken advantage of!

/sue

[Crisis]

Why don't you tell us your thoughts on it?

[NathanMcMahon]

Out of the handful of testing jobs I've had, they were actually not that bad. Their worker relations were kind of shit but what can you expect from an employee factory with a high rate of turn over. I got paid for every hour I worked as far as I know and my breaks and lunch were all given.

[THE NO LIFE KING]

Surprise, Surprise!

[NathanMcMahon]

Surprise, Surprise!

"Surpise, Surprise" what?

[shagg_187]

Out of the handful of testing jobs I've had, they were actually not that bad. Their worker relations were kind of shit but what can you expect from an employee factory with a high rate of turn over. I got paid for every hour I worked as far as I know and my breaks and lunch were all given.

BAM. You are now the witness for Take Two. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.

MUAHHAHAHAH!

[NathanMcMahon]

BAM. You are now the witness for Take Two. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. MUAHHAHAHAH!

At least throw in an Ace Attorney Objection!

[shagg_187]

At least throw in an Ace Attorney Objection!

But... it's not an objection! :P

FINE!

[NathanMcMahon]

Yeah, but it still fits

[-Pyromaniac-]

[elrechazado]

sounds like a standard wage and hour suit. Probably alleging misclassification as exempt employee.

[NathanMcMahon]

Now, Disney was a shithole to work for. And Liquid Entertainment was a like wallowing in a pit of uninspired crap and throwing it at consoles and PC's hoping some form of workable shit would stay stuck to them.

[TheMan]

Now, Disney was a shithole to work for. And Liquid Entertainment was a like wallowing in a pit of uninspired crap and throwing it at consoles and PC's hoping some form of workable shit would stay stuck to them.

Care to elaborate? I think everyone would like to look behind the curtain...

[THE NO LIFE KING]

"Surpise, Surprise" what?

Just to hear Take Two being sued.

[oneils]

.... I used to be a tester a few years ago. This is pretty interesting. Thoughts?

What games did you test? Are you allowed to say?

[Suairyu]

I'm presuming this guy worked for the Rockstar portion of Take2. If so, I'll just accept his allegations as true.

If not, I still wouldn't be surprised. Take2 are complicit in Rockstar's shady behaviour by allowing it; it follows they might have similar practices in their other development families.

Go, tester guy!

[thuway]

I worked as a tester for Nintendo. Never again.

[alphaNoid]

Game Testers, serious business.

[Guevara]

Game Testers, serious business.

Not being paid for all hours worked (in any industry) is pretty serious

[Gomu Gomu]

Oh man, imagine playing a shitty sponge bob game for 6 (?) hours a day, 5 days a week, and then not getting paid for it. That would be the worst.

[Nemo]

Their defense is "no he's lying". Shouldn't this be real easy and quick to find out?

[CornBurrito]

Game Testers, serious business.

Yeah, people should just let companies get away with not paying them. *rolls eyes*

[Arcblade]

Heck, I don't even know these laws. I'm probably being taken advantage of! /sue

One would hope that you understand the terms of your contract(s) and, if your employer was shady enough to rob you of wages for hours you worked, that you would seek restitution for said unpaid labor.

If not... well, global capitalists would love to have you installed into a factory in Indonesia.

[EvilMario]

Working for Visual Concepts was one of my first jobs in the industry. The work environment we were presented with wasn't exactly great, but I was paid for all my hours I put in. And that involves a lot of overtime.. which is where temporary testers will end up making most of their money.

Looks like it's really gone to the shitter.

[thuway]

Game Testers, serious business.

Honestly, I might get banned for saying this, but quit being an ignorant fuck. Game testers are the least appreciated people in the industry. They work long hours, endure eye strain, and actively work to make sure that YOUR experience is as pristine as possible. You would never understand what its like to be paid a measly 10 dollars an hour, getting laid off constantly, and still trying to find passion in your hobby or in this industry.

We all have our reasons for work, but not getting paid thats an entire other issue. However, looking down at someone who tests games- really? Are you the same type of person who looks down on people because they throw out your garbage, or cook your fast food?

[NathanMcMahon]

Sorry I was absent, I had some stuff to do.

What games did you test? Are you allowed to say?

When I worked at 2K Games I was a tester on MLB whatever year it was and Bioshock 2 and Mafia 2 and Borderlands.

At Disney I tested so many it's hard to remember but off the top of my head, Lumines 2, Hannah Montana DS, Turok, and quite a few others that are probably better left forgotten.

At Liquid I was more of a PA but my title was tester and I was there for a year leading up to the shittastic release of Rise of the Argonauts. Their quality is also showcased in that amazingly bad Thor Movie game.

Care to elaborate? I think everyone would like to look behind the curtain...

Disney was just poorly managed at the time. The Manager of the lead department was kind of a dick and some of the leads alluded to him playing WoW all day long in his office. I believe he was also notorious for getting head from some female leads but who knows if that was true.

As a funny side note, I sent this to Kotaku:
http://kotaku.com/gaming/potty-time/...its-257883.php

I almost got into trouble for sending the email but I owned up and admitted it was me and didn't get fired or anything. That was at the end of my time there when they were scraping the bottom of the barrel for testers and literally coming up with shit.

As far as Liquid was concerned, they had a guy producing who had no personality and engaging him in conversation was like talking to wall. He couldn't get any ideas out of his thick head. The associate producer was more interested in finishing his stupid short film and pretending he was Spielberg. The owner and founder Ed was a top notch guy but seemed out of touch with the process and should have been more in the trenches than he was. As far as the COO Holly, she was a vicious troll of a woman who was virtually unapproachable. I had dreams while I was there of really becoming part of a creative team and getting to engage with talented people in a cool environment, but I never was able to get that shot. I am definitely pretty jaded when it comes to them so anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt, but I realized I wasn't as into the sausage making as i thought. Oh well.

As far as this Take Two suit, I was a tester at 2K Games directly so, I'm not really sure why they'd be soliciting me, but it is pretty interesting.

[Zoe]

Their defense is "no he's lying". Shouldn't this be real easy and quick to find out?

Depends on how they keep their records. Frequency of breaks probably wouldn't be monitored either.